Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark

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Description

Description

The Medicine Wheel is located in the Bighorn National Forest on the western peak of Medicine Mountain at an elevation of 9642 feet in the Bighorn Range east of Lovell, Wyoming.

The 75-foot diameter Medicine Wheel is a roughly circular alignment of rocks and associated cairns enclosing 28 radial rows of rock extending out from a central cairn. This feature is part of a much larger complex of interrelated archeological sites and traditional use areas that express 7000 years of Native American adaptation to and use of the alpine landscape that surrounds Medicine Mountain.

Numerous contemporary American Indian traditional use areas and features, including ceremonial staging areas, medicinal and ceremonial plant gathering areas, sweat lodge sites, altars, offering locales and fasting (vision quest) enclosures, can be found nearby. Ethnohistoric, ethnographic, and archeological evidence demonstrates that the Medicine Wheel and the surrounding landscape constitute one of the most important and well preserved ancient Native American sacred site complexes in North America. The Bighorn Medicine Wheel is considered the type site for medicine wheels in North America. Between 70 and 150 wheels have been identified in South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Alberta, and Saskatchewan .

In addition to seeing an important part of history, visitors to the Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark will enjoy traveling through Bighorn National Forest.

To visit:

Take Medicine Wheel Passage, 32 miles east of Lovell on U.S. Highway 14a, then 2 miles Northwest on Forest Road 12 to parking area and gate. There is about a two mile walk from parking area. Open daylight hours only. Group size limited to 25 people at a time.

This site does not have facilities or camping and may be closed even during the open season due to weather. Open mid-June through mid-September, weather permitting. There are short periods of closure during ceremonial use. Special permissions will be granted for handicap access upon request.